The present invention relates to a solid fuel feed system for a boiler and, more particularly, to such a system in which the fuel is received in an inlet, stored in a hopper, and discharged into the boiler.
Several problems are encountered in the distribution of bulk fuel material, such as refuse, from an external supply source to a boiler. For example, it is often difficult to insure a continuous flow of fuel material into a supply hopper for the boiler due to the fact that a continuous source of the fuel material and/or equipment to handle it is not always readily available. Also, the requirements of the boiler vary to an extent that the volume of the fuel material supplied to the boiler must also vary considerably. Further, since several burner systems are provided in connection with a typical boiler which are fed by separate fuel feed systems, a shutdown of one of the latter requires a corresponding change in the feeding rate of the others.